When you send a Pending Balance payment request, patients are typically given two options:
Pay Balance (full amount)
Pay a Different Amount (partial payment)
With this setting, your practice can decide whether patients are allowed to make partial payments—or if they must pay the full balance in one transaction.
Why This Matters
Every practice handles payments differently. This setting gives you control to align payment behavior with your financial policies.
You can use this feature to:
Encourage full balance collection to improve cash flow
Reduce follow-up work on partially paid balances
Offer flexibility for patients who may not be able to pay in full
Standardize how payment requests behave across your practice
Where to Find the Setting
Go to Payments in the left-hand navigation
Select Settings
Navigate to Payment Automation Settings
Locate the toggle: Allow partial payments for Pending Balance requests
How the Setting Works
When Enabled (Default)
Patients see both:
Pay Balance
Pay a Different Amount
Patients can enter a custom payment amount
Partial payments are allowed
Best for: Practices that want to give patients flexibility and increase the likelihood of collecting something rather than nothing.
When Disabled
The Pay a Different Amount option is removed
Only the Pay Balance is available
Patients must pay the full outstanding balance
The payment amount cannot be changed
Best for: Practices that want to collect balances in full and avoid managing partial payments.
What This Setting Applies To
This setting only affects Pending Balance payment request links, including those sent via:
Email
SMS
Direct payment links
What This Setting Does NOT Affect
This setting does not apply to:
Custom Amount payment requests (amount is fixed when created)
Payment Plans
Point-of-sale (POS) payments
In-office payment workflows
Choosing the Right Setting
Your Preference | Recommended Setting |
Allow patients to pay what they can | Enabled |
Require full balance payment | Disabled |
Important Notes
The default setting is Enabled (partial payments allowed)
This setting applies practice-wide and cannot be customized per patient or per request
Disabling the setting only changes the patient’s payment options—it does not impact how payments are recorded or synced
The experience is consistent across desktop, mobile, email, and SMS payment links